"What? The Fractured Star Demon Territory?!"
Qin Zi's face instantly turned pale, nearly dying of fright on the spot!
Unless traveling by the blockade airship, a human expert trespassing into the demon territory would be hunted relentlessly by the demon clans!
It would be a fight to the death!
Without the strength of a Quasi-Emperor, there was no chance of escaping the demon territory alive—it would be a gruesome end.
"Whoever the heartless idiot was that dug this cursed tunnel, you and I have unfinished business!!"
He roared in fury.
Then… he turned and tried to leave.
Although he hated this tunnel, leaving it now would mean certain death, so his only choice was to retrace his steps!
The tunnel was like a maze. Even if the demon powerhouses followed him into the passage, it wouldn't be easy to catch him.
But—
The person who created the tunnel seemed to hear his angry cry. Suddenly, with a deafening crash, the tunnel behind him collapsed.
"This..."
Qin Zi froze in place, tears welling up in his eyes as he muttered miserably, "Oh great creator of this tunnel, I was wrong… I still need it..."
He sincerely repented.
But it was useless.
The "it's not so bad" rule didn't apply here.
There would be no more eating a single bite, not even if you jumped out of here and starved to death outside…
"Haha, trying to run? Get out here!"
The black ox demon sneered, its massive hoof stomping on the ground, causing the earth to tremble. Qin Zi was forcibly shaken out of hiding.
"Run!"
Without hesitation, Qin Zi bolted in one direction—though he had no idea if it would take him deeper into the demon territory...
"Stay right where you are!"
A massive lion grew even larger, swelling to hundreds of meters tall. It lunged at Qin Zi with a gaping maw, its jaws wide enough to block out the sky.
"You really think I'm that easy to bully?!"
Qin Zi roared, pulling out his Flame Dragon Spear, an emperor-level weapon. With a sudden burst of speed, he turned into a fiery dragon and shot through the lion!
"Splat!"
Blood sprayed into the air as Qin Zi turned into a red streak, speeding toward the horizon. The enormous lion staggered and fell backward.
"Boom!"
The massive lion hit the ground, causing the earth to shake violently, dust billowing around. The surrounding demons were all stunned.
"This… Old Lion was just killed like that? But he was a Fourth Heaven Demon Saint!"
"He had an emperor weapon, that's the only reason he could take down Old Lion so easily."
"Should we give chase?"
"Hmph, he can handle a Fourth Heaven demon, but I'm a Fifth Heaven Demon Saint. That said… staying alive is more important!"
"That makes sense. He's heading deeper into the Fractured Star Demon Territory anyway. Some elders will surely take care of him."
With that, the demons all quietly lay back down, shifting from two legs to four, pretending to be ordinary animals as they continued munching on grass.
Demon cultivation was simple and unpretentious.
In fact, demonkind was divided into two general types.
The first were those born into noble families of the demon world, possessing intelligence from birth. Some could even take human form immediately upon reaching the Saint stage. They cultivated like humans, achieving great results within decades, and could shift back to their true forms as needed.
The second type was the original demons, animals or plants that had gained sentience, transforming into demons.
The difference between these two types of demons was like that between aristocrats and nouveau riche.
The aristocrats valued legacy and had cultural and spiritual pursuits, while the nouveau riche, in general, didn't concern themselves with such things.
Take the demons before him—they were just ordinary beasts that had gained intelligence. After becoming demons, they didn't aspire to martial prowess. They still lived like wild animals, even after living for over a thousand years, barely reaching the Fourth or Fifth Heaven Demon Saint realm.
Of course, Qin Zi didn't care about any of this.
He was too busy running for his life!
"I can't run aimlessly. I need to figure out where I am. I should head toward Ziyun Domain if I want any chance of surviving."
He knew how dangerous the demon territory was. The deeper he ventured, the more likely he would encounter greater demons, some of which could be dormant Quasi-Emperor level beasts.
"I need to find a demon to ask for directions."
With this plan in mind, he swiftly took action.
Before long, he came across a bear-like demon. The moment the bear saw him, it bared its fangs and charged at him with its claws.
Moments later…
The black bear sat down, beaten black and blue, with a massive bump on its head. Its eyes were wet with tears as it sat miserably on the ground.
"Tell me, which way is the Ziyun Domain?"
Hovering two meters above the ground, Qin Zi stared at the bear, leveling his gaze with the four-meter-tall black bear demon. His tone was calm.
"Honey? Where's the honey?"
The black bear's eyes lit up as it started sniffing the air, eagerly looking around for the sweet scent.
"Where are the humans?"
Qin Zi's lips twitched as he rephrased his question.
"Humans? What's a human?"
The black bear's expression was blank.
Qin Zi's face darkened. This was like talking to a brick wall. Annoyed, he decided the bear wasn't being honest and gave it another beating.
"Bam! Bam! Bam!"
"Ow! Ow, ow! Please stop!"
Qin Zi's fists and feet pummeled the bear into submission, sending it rolling on the ground, howling in pain.
After a while, Qin Zi felt he'd vented enough and stopped the beating. He asked again, "Where are the humans?!"
"What do humans look like?"
The black bear whimpered, rubbing its eyes, still teary.
"Like me!"
Qin Zi replied in exasperation. "Small arms, small legs, wearing clothes, and very good-looking."
"Oh, oh."
The black bear nodded quickly, then muttered softly, "But you're not good-looking… too skinny, no meat…"
"Hmm?!"
Qin Zi's eyes gleamed dangerously.
Startled, the bear recoiled, hurriedly shouting, "I remember! I remember now! There's a place far over there with lots of creatures like you!"
It pointed its paw toward the distance.
It was dusk, and the sky in that direction glowed a soft orange, peaceful and calm, as if it held the promise of civilization and hope…
"You're not lying?"
Qin Zi narrowed his eyes, still suspicious.
"No, definitely not!"
The black bear shrank back, swearing up and down.
But Qin Zi still wasn't convinced.
So he beat the black bear several more times, nearly knocking it out, before finally feeling confident the bear wasn't lying.
"Thanks."
He tossed a few spirit fruits to the bear, then soared into the sky, flying in the direction the bear had pointed.
He didn't kill the black bear.
He knew that demons weren't inherently evil. They were simply of a different species. In the demon territory, these ordinary demons lived their lives much like common folk in the human world, without ambition to conquer or wage war.
The true adversaries of humanity were the noble demon clans—the great and powerful demons!
Meanwhile, high in the sky.
Qin Chuan, cloaked in an invisibility garment bought for 30 points of "Father Power," silently observed his son.
He was surprised to find that, after a "polite" round of asking for directions, Qin Xiao Pig was heading deeper into the demon territory.
He paused in thought.
Then it hit him.
It seemed… the truly powerful demons all took on human form.
Aha, even the wisest can make mistakes. Qin Xiao Pig has been careless again.